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So its similar to US 27 in Chattanooga. People call it Corridor J, which doesn't show up on most maps.. Wouldn't APD 40 be part of Corridor K then? If I remember Corridor K is from basically Cleveland to Asheville

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So its similar to US 27 in Chattanooga. People call it Corridor J, which doesn't show up on most maps.. Wouldn't APD 40 be part of Corridor K then? If I remember Corridor K is from basically Cleveland to Asheville

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Wow, not much action here lately. We lost our 9 year old beagle and on top of that, its been hectic, so I have not been posting much, but I am on vacation this week (starting tomorrow) and will post more when we get back from out of town at the first of next week. We are going to Charlotte, NC and Lancaster, SC.

Well - quickly, here in Bristol, TN - there is some sort of huge shopping center going in across from our 3 year old, newly relocated Wal-mart Supercenter - not sure what its going to be yet though. Also a new credit union being built in the area, as well as a new bank and the new Wendy's was completed. Also, some talk of a Makatos Japanese restaurant going into the old Cheers building on the Volunteer Parkway.

The stage 2 of the Raceway condominiums is underway across from Bristol Motor Speedway. Building 1 was completed and now 2 of 6 will be soon completed. More on that later.

On the other side of the city (on the VIRGINIA side), tons of development, especially at the exit 7 area of I-81. The new "Village" shopping center is still under construction, which will have several shopping malls and a Crackel Barrell restaurant- the FIRST in Bristol. To eat at Cracker Barrell before, Bristolians would have to go to Blountville (exit 66, I-81) or Abingdon (exit 10, I-81 - VA side) - both about 20 miles from Bristol.

Also, Bristol to get its first Starbucks coffee house- located at exit 7 - opens next week in Bristol, VA.

For some reason, the "only a few years old" Damon's restaurant, which did high volumes of business was torn down. I have heard everything from poor management, to the city needing that part of the street corner to revise the roads to accommodate the heavy and increasing traffic in the area.

The new parking garage in downtown Bristol is still supposed to be a "go".

Biggest news is that of a large low-budget housing complex (projects / ghetto - which we already have plenty of) near the exit 7 area of I-81, where business is booming as mentioned. The local residents are complaining, because they said it is going to decrease the value of their homes, increase crime, traffic, etc. Still having hearings on this project.

Oh, the "big bridge" being built in the downtown Bristol, TN-VA area is being built to direct traffic away from the railroad crossing in the downtown area. This new bridge will allow downtown traffic to go over the train, without being diverted to much. It is supposed to be the longest and tallest bridge in Bristol. It will run from north Pennsylvania Avenue to north Edgemont Avenue, near the Fort Shelby Towers building.

I am sure I left something out. I am sure there is much more to report for the Johnson City-Kingsport areas, but I have not been there for about a month, so I cannot comment on those areas, despite only being 20 miles away.

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I happened to see a brochure put out by the Evans Group who specialize in "Marketecture", whatever that means. They apparently are big into a sort of new urbanism, with mixed-used developments around the country. The brocure mentioned one under development in Bristol Tennessee, but gave no specific information.

I couldn't find anything on their website either. Does anyone know anything about this?

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Hmm. That is interesting. No, I have not heard anything about it myself, but if you find out, please pass along the information. There is so much going on right now in Bristol, TN-VA, its hard to tell....

Here is more info that I just posted on the "Virginia" forums for some things going on in the Bristol, Virginia area- which will also compliment Bristol, TN residents - since the cities are connected.... I am just going to copy and paste the info below....

"At exit 7 I-81, it is a booming little area- with nearly a hundred (or more) restaurants, several shopping centers, Lowes Home Improvement, Wal-Mart supercenter, Home Depot, Food City and soon to be Cracker Barrel and several more shopping centers and most recently announced, a potential "low cost" housing project near the area (which is opposed by local residents in the area) and just announced tonight another huge shopping center complex, which will include a TJ Maxx, Best Buy, Pet Smart, Books a Million and Old Navy and another major retailer- not mentioned now, but I suspect a Target. Before, Bristol residents had to travel to Kingsport or Johnson City, TN - about 20 miles away to shop at Target, Pet Smart or Best Buy. This will be a very nice addition to Bristol, VA-TN. Oh, and don't forget the new Sam's Club that is also to soon be built between Wal-Mart and Lowes next year.

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It's odd that this forum has no Knoxville representation, and that the most exciting city in East TN goes un noticed on this board. I should note that as a resident of Knoxville, Turkey Creek (which has the largest movie theature in TN), Downtown, and the South Knoxville waterfront are experiencing unprecidented growth. Historic Market Square is alive with businesses as is Gay Street.

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It's odd that this forum has no Knoxville representation, and that the most exciting city in East TN goes un noticed on this board. I should note that as a resident of Knoxville, Turkey Creek (which has the largest movie theature in TN), Downtown, and the South Knoxville waterfront are experiencing unprecidented growth. Historic Market Square is alive with businesses as is Gay Street.

I'm not getting the link to open up. I agree with you that we need a lot more representation on this forum from Knoxville. A lot is happening there, and it is the fastest growing area in East Tennessee.

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^ I have no idea why we can't attract folks from Knoxville, it has not been for lack of trying. It seems the Tri-Cities and Chattanooga can produce regular representation, but Knoxville seems for the most part void of people interested enough to regulary, heck even sporadically, post on their city. I have no explanation, wish I did.

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I'll post about Knoxville. Our company is based out of Greenville SC and we marketed and sold phase 2 of Museum Bluffs in Downtown Chattanooga. We recently sold out The Candy Factory in Downtown Knoxville. The project was a success and underscored the growing demand in Knoxville. When we were in town working on the Knoxville project, we really got the feel that there is a growing belief in the Downtown Area. The city appears to be taking all of the necessary steps to facilitate growth.

I think Knoxville has all of the right elements, ie strong population, riverfront, college, to become a special place.

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I'll post about Knoxville. Our company is based out of Greenville SC and we marketed and sold phase 2 of Museum Bluffs in Downtown Chattanooga. We recently sold out The Candy Factory in Downtown Knoxville. The project was a success and underscored the growing demand in Knoxville. When we were in town working on the Knoxville project, we really got the feel that there is a growing belief in the Downtown Area. The city appears to be taking all of the necessary steps to facilitate growth.

I think Knoxville has all of the right elements, ie strong population, riverfront, college, to become a special place.

Welcome back to the forum. Do you plan to auction any more projects in Chattanooga or Knoxville? I know the Museum Bluffs II auction was quite successful. Also, I was wondering if you had a rendering for the Candy Factory project.

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As simple as it sounds, belief. Going into the project it seemed like people were poised and ready to embrace downtown, they just needed a catalyst to support their desire. The City has led with the work around Market Square and the Downtown Events. Both of which are necessary components.

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As simple as it sounds, belief. Going into the project it seemed like people were poised and ready to embrace downtown, they just needed a catalyst to support their desire. The City has led with the work around Market Square and the Downtown Events. Both of which are necessary components.

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Well, to update, the bridge project in downtown Bristol is coming along nicely. Its going to be taller than I thought. I am hoping that there will be a good view of downtown from up there. We will have to wait and see.

More condos are going up all over the area and more near the race track. I am going to try to get some updated photographs soon of all of these projects.

Still no word on the downtown parking garage. Its as if they have swept it under the rugs.

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Yet another condo / retail project for the Chattanooga North Shore was annouced today in the Chattanooga Times Free Press today. It is a $20 Million, 5 story, 126,000 Sq Ft project and will be known as the Bridge View. It will be located at the corner of North Market Street and Cherokee Blvd where the oldest Sun Trust Bank branch in Chattanooga currently sits. Demolition of the Bank, built in 1948, will begin on Monday to make way for the project. The project will contain 50 Condos and retail, and the condos will be priced from $250,000 to over $1,000,000 for the penthouse. The project is expected to be completed in early 2008. Here's the entire article:

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Its been awhile..... to update, the new Sams Club is about complete in Johnson City. It is a very grand and clean looking store (fresh design) as opposed to the OLD building @ the airport exit of I-81 location.

The one in Bristol is also well underway. The "skeleton" is up and it is supposed to be complete by June.

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Yet another condo / retail project for the Chattanooga North Shore was annouced today in the Chattanooga Times Free Press today. It is a $20 Million, 5 story, 126,000 Sq Ft project and will be known as the Bridge View. It will be located at the corner of North Market Street and Cherokee Blvd where the oldest Sun Trust Bank branch in Chattanooga currently sits. Demolition of the Bank, built in 1948, will begin on Monday to make way for the project. The project will contain 50 Condos and retail, and the condos will be priced from $250,000 to over $1,000,000 for the penthouse. The project is expected to be completed in early 2008. Here's the entire article:

I saw a rendering of the Bridgeview project this weekend. It's gone through a major redesign and it's awesome! I wish I could post it. Hopefully it will be in the media shorthly. This will be a major project on a prime site, upscale with pricing at $250 per sq ft or more. It should break ground later this year.

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Just thought I would update on the new bridge that will go over over the tracks near downtown Bristol. From what I can tell, there will be a grand view of downtown from the bridge. I hope so anyway. I cannot wait to drive across and take a photo just to see what view it offers.

Also- the old "Cheers" restaurant building came tumbling down this week. The old eyesore that had been vacant since the mid 1990s is in rubble now. I know everyone is ecstatic. Its strange, because they built it in the early 1990s and it was only used for 3 years before they moved out- so it was really only used for 3 years. Its amazing at the damage that can occur in a building that just sets vacant without care than one that it used.

They did have a sale of all of the items inside... it was full of barely used appliances and furniture. I heard it was all still in good shape... some had water damage I think though because there was some major roof damage- since it had a unmaintained roof that had been on there since about 1992.

The land is for sale now... I am wondering what will go in there.

The Cheddars restaurant and bank on the corner of Parkway and Broad St. got a greenlight. The big shopping plazas at the exit 7 I-81 area are well underway as well. I need to get up there and take some photos soon.

Oh, we also finally got some cameras along I-81 in the city. Three of them to be exact. They are on the Virginia side of the city however, near the busy exit 7 area. It can be accessed through Weatherbug..... I guess from VDOT as well. Now, if we can only get Tennessee to add them on the Tennessee side.

Here is a link to the VDOT website where the cameras near the TN-VA state line along I-81 can be viewed..... you have to click on the southwest Virginia region to zoom in. There are four cameras there, pretty close together, within about a 5 mile range. It updates every 2 seconds.

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Okay..so this isn't really in East TN but it is at least in the Tri Cities Metro area. Just read about a new development in my home town of Meadoview VA....a small village in Washington County, about 12 miles from Bristol.

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^ Thats great to see a smaller community take such a deliberate and well-planned approach to redeveloping its downtown square. I hope this proves to be very successful and a model for other communities to follow. Thats what a lot of communities seem to need to be successful (esp. the smaller ones), a tried and succesful model to follow and/or adapt as a basis to get things moving.